How Crystal Healing Works

Discover the spiritual science of how vibrations emanating from within crystals affect you and the surrounding area. Ascertain how these vibrations are effectual in crystal colour therapy and understand the applications of a crystals chemical composition in crystal healing. Learn the history of crystal healing practises.

Crystal Healing History

For thousands of years crystals have been used to bestow protection, strength and healing. There is evidence dating back 60,000 years that pebbles, fossils and ivory were worn as ornaments by ancient man, and there are medical treatises written from 12th - 18th centuries, detailing the use of crystals in treatment of certain ailments and mental conditions. Many of the qualities and meanings we attribute to crystals today have been recognised for hundreds, or even thousands of years.

Colour Therapy

The most basic form of crystal healing involves colour therapy - a form of healing that uses the vibrational frequency of colours to elicit change and rebalancing within the body. In colour therapy, the client will be asked to wear certain colours of clothing, or to sit for a period of time in a darkened room with a light box, and bathe in a particular colour of light.

Colour Therapy is based on the Chakras and their corresponding colours, although other colours may be used, and the colours chosen will reflect a perceived weakness in one or more Chakras. For additional information, please see section on Chakras

Crystal healing works on a similar level. Crystals will be chosen according to colour, and correspondence with the Chakra system. In simple terms, let's use as an example a person suffering from an intestinal problem. The intestines fall within the area around the Sacral Chakra, whose corresponding colour is orange. Therefore, carnelian, which is also orange, may be used to treat it.

Having said this, sometimes, when the problem is created by a blockage in the flow of energy from another Chakra, it is best to treat the blockage, rather than working directly on an area already made sensitive by irritation. Always take a gentle approach to crystal healing. Remember you're working with powerful tools!

Crystal Vibration

Colour frequency is a form of vibration, but in addition to this, the crystals themselves vibrate. Many people are surprised by a tingling sensation in their hands when holding crystals.

The molecules in most solid substances are organised in a random manner and are free to move around one another. The individual molecules and atoms of a crystal are drawn together as close as possible during their formation, partly because of strong electromagnetic forces, and also because of the extreme pressure, deep in the earth, around many of them as they form. Because there is no space to be wasted, the molecules arrange themselves into exact geometric patterns, known as 'crystal lattices'.

These patterns govern the shape the crystal will eventually become. It also means that the molecules are not able to roam about freely, and therefore vibrate in place. The vibrational frequency can be measured as an exact number of vibrations per second.

Certain crystals, such as members of the quartz family, possess piezoelectricity, a quality that allows electrical impulses to pass through a crystal in a pre-determined path. This makes quartz useful in the manufacture of silicon chips in computers, and helps to keep watches accurate. Therefore, clear quartz is used in crystal healing to transmit and direct energy. In healing terms, this means that the vibrational energy can dissipate an energy blockage, or direct and amplify healing energy.

Chemical Composition

The vibrational frequency of the elements that make up crystals is also used in crystal healing.

To understand the importance of the chemical make-up of minerals, let's look at a few examples:

Calcite (CaCO2), you will find by looking at the periodic table, is a calcium carbonate. Most people will know that calcium is the main constituent of the skeletal system, and therefore calcite is often used in crystal healing to help mend fractures of bones.

Hematite (Fe2O3) is an iron oxide. Iron helps to maintain healthy red corpuscles and oxygenate the blood, and hematite is frequently used to treat anaemia as well as circulatory problems.

Malachite (Cu2(CO3)(OH)2) contains mainly copper, which draws off heat, and can therefore be used to reduce inflammation. This is the idea behind the use of copper wrist bands to treat osteoarthritis.

Crystal Systems and Geometric Shapes

Natural crystal shapes have been divided into seven groups or systems. Each system is determined by the crystal's axes (plural of axis), and the angles at which these axes intersect. Please see separate article on Crystal Systems for more detailed information.

The correlation between geometric shapes and certain physical, spiritual, or emotional qualities was first recorded by Plato, although there is evidence that this was recognised long before his writing. An example of this is the cube, which represents the element Earth. Cubic crystals are very good for 'grounding'. To illustrate this, try holding a natural pyrite cube the next time you feel in need of 'grounding', instead of the more traditional Smoky Quartz or black tourmaline. Michael Gienger, in Crystal Power Crystal Healing (published by Blandford), notes that different personality types are often attracted to one particular crystal system. In more advanced forms of crystal healing, the crystal system can be used to facilitate healing.

This will also work with carved crystals, which may be carved into intricate geometric shapes for specific meditation and healing work. Examples are the Flower of Life and the MerKaBah, but spheres are also used in this way.